Dudley Dursley and the Year He Became a Man
by The Feisty Rogue
Summary: Dudley leaves Privet Drive with his parents, and spends just under a year in wizarding protection, learning some harsh realities about life.
1. Chapter 1

Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments)

Assignment #5 

Astronomy 8. Neptune - write about somebody staying under the radar

Roald Dahl Event

17\. High fat room - Write about Dudley Dursley.

Showtime

Act 2.11 The Adams Administration: (word) Reputation

 **Dudley Dursley and the Year He Became a Man**

* * *

 **31st July 1997**

Dudley crushed himself up against the window so that only the very smallest amount of him was touching the excitable Diggle man. Once proper introductions were over, the car ride away from Private Drive had been silent, apart from Dad's occasional disgruntled mutterings and Diggle's exclamations over how wonderful Dad's driving was. It was damn disturbing to think that a man of his age couldn't even drive.

Then, Dudley remembered how some red headed terror-twins had appeared in their living room a couple years back. They'd arrived through the fireplace and poisoned him. And, he thought about how Harry had a strange broom he never used for sweeping, and realised with vague bewilderment that it was quite likely that wizards might not even use cars at all.

Freaky.

"Pull over here," Hestia said, and hid a yawn behind one delicate hand. She was quite pretty, Dudley supposed, for a witch, with blue eyes and long brown hair that curled slightly at the ends.

"But there's nothing around for miles!" Dad exclaimed.

Hestia turned bored eyes upon him. "Obviously. That's the point."

Dad spluttered, but pulled over anyway.

"It's nearly time!" Diggle's watch squawked as they got out of the car, and everyone but he jumped. Instead, Diggle laughed nervously, and tapped his magic wand on the car boot several times. Nothing happened. Dudley eyed it warily, and took a step back.

"How do you unlock this thing?" Diggle muttered as Mum stared at him in horror for daring to have attempted magic in her presence. Eventually, Dudley opened the boot, as neither of his parents seemed inclined to, frozen where they stood. "Oh - amazing!"

Diggle flicked his wand, and every item they'd packed away flew up into the air and floated out in an orderly procession. Dudley stared. This was the first piece of actual magic he'd ever seen, other than that time monsters had tried to take his soul, and he'd not been paying Harry much attention then.

"My reputation..." Dad groaned, eyeing the magic with horror. Dudley actually found it somewhat impressive, but didn't dare say.

"Reducio." Their luggage shrank and shrank, until it became small enough for Diggle to place in his pocket, which was exactly what he did.

"Now see here!" Dad blustered. "We don't want any of that funny stuff happening around us."

Hestia turned to face Dad, and stared at him. "Tough," she said, and rolled her eyes.

It was so deadpan, and ridiculous, that Dudley couldn't take it anymore. He snorted with laughter, and then chuckled at Dad's outraged face. They were being hidden away by wizards, to save them from other, evil wizards, and this was what Dad objected to. Eventually, he calmed, and Hestia turned and winked at him. He grit his teeth to hide an unwelcome blush, and tentatively smiled back.

All his parent's lives had been spent trying to avoid Harry's magic, and now they'd agreed to be protected by adult wizards who didn't give a damn about his parent's feelings on the subject, and seemed to worship Harry, judging by their conversation prior to leaving Privet Drive. Dudley only hoped his Dad's heart could take the strain.

The car was locked up, then Hestia tapped it with her wand. It shimmered, then disappeared.

"It's just invisible," she informed them, preempting Dad's anger. "Now, Mrs Dursley, Dudley, take my hand. Diggle – you take Mr Dursley."

"Ten!" Diggle's watch announced with glee.

Dudley exchanged a wide-eyed look with his Mum, who pursed her lips in distaste.

"Nine!" Mum reluctantly placed her hand in Hestia's and Dudley followed suit. She felt just the same as any other sort of normal girl would, her hands soft and warm.

"Eight! Seven!"

"What is this nonsense?" Dad exclaimed, moustache quivering.

Hestia narrowed her eyes. "Stun him if he won't come quietly," she said to Diggle, who giggled nervously, but withdrew his wand.

"Six! Five!"

"It's wizarding transport. Nothing to worry about, it'll be over in no time," Diggle said, hoping from one foot to the other.

"Four! Three! Two!" Dad grabbled Diggle's arm just as his wand raised.

"One!"

Dudley felt as if his organs were being squeezed inside out. His ribs were crushing him and he was spinning and spinning and suddenly he fell to the ground with a thud, and promptly threw up.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Dad yelled, in a similar position on the floor. Dudley groaned, and wiped at his mouth.

"No time to waste!" Diggle informed them, and procured a ragged scarf. "Everyone touch the scarf." Dudley staggered to his feet, helped his Mum up, and clasped the scarf, ignoring the argument his Dad was having with Diggle. There was a sudden tug about his waist, and he was thrown through the air, bright lights flashing past him as he free fell. Once more he collapsed to the ground, and he just lay there for a moment, breathing in the fresh air.

"We're here," Hestia said. She'd landed on her feet, and was eyeing them with disdain. Dudley glared at her. "Come along now."

She led them down a winding path to what looked like rundown shack. Then, the moment they walked through the gate, the shack transformed into a perfectly normal cottage, with wisteria winding over the porch and even a white picket fence lining the land.

"Oh my," Mum said, covering her mouth with her hand, gaze flitting about. The door opened without a key, and they entered to explore it.

The cottage had four bedrooms, two bathrooms, an old-fashioned kitchen, and a lounge without a TV. Nothing else but field and forest could be seen for miles, even when Dudley looked out the highest window. He searched as his Mum unpacked, but couldn't find any sign of electricity or mains sockets. Even the lights, he realised, were gas lamps and candles.

"I can't find any plugs," Dudley said to Hestia, who was unpacking food in the kitchen.

"Ah yes, the elephantricity!" Diggle said. Dudley gaped, and wondered what he'd gotten himself into.

"Don't have any. Wouldn't work anyway, not under wards like these," Hestia said. Dudley staggered out of the kitchen and collapsed onto a sofa. No electricity meant no TV, no computer, no Gameboy, no phone!

What the hell was he going to do?

* * *

Word count: 1055


	2. Chapter 2

The first month passed in a daze of incredulity. Diggle and Hestia used magic around the house as if it was nothing, and he gradually grew to understand that to them – it was. Dudley realised how little he knew about magic, and he even resorted to reading some of the books that lay about the place when he got really bored. He also ran a lot, exploring the area. Apparently, the particular middle of nowhere that they were stuck in was somewhere in Wales.

There was a lot of sheep.

Dudley was sitting in the kitchen, snacking on a cake Mum had baked, when a silver animal streaked into the room and prowled before Hestia. Both her and Diggle had their wands out, and were staring at it.

"Code red: Ministry," the animal, some sort of cat, announced. Diggle and Hestia glanced at the calendar.

"It's my day on duty," Diggle said, the most serious Dudley had ever seen him. He was normally full of laughs, always with a foolish joke to tell, or a face to pull.

Hestia nodded. "Be safe."

Diggle bowed to her, then Dudley. With a loud crack, he disappeared. Hestia was still gripping her wand, staring at the place Diggle had been standing, when Dudley asked the question that had been plaguing him.

"What's a code red?" In his video games, a code red was very bad news.

Hestia was completely pale, and stared out of the window for a long moment.

"You Know Who and the Death Eaters are attacking the Ministry of Magic," she said, her voice dull. "Don't leave the house today. Tell your parents."

Dudley blinked, then ran to do as she said. They were in the lounge, reading books that were definitely 'Muggle' of origin.

Mum's face turned ashen when he told her the news.

"That's not good," she muttered. "The Ministry?"

"Why did he leave us? Don't we need protecting too?" Dad sputtered, and paced back and forth before the fireplace. Dudley said nothing.

Just over an hour later there was a loud crash outside. Dudley, who'd been in his room, rushed down the stairs to see Hestia levitating a bloodied and unconscious Diggle into the house and onto the kitchen table.

"Get my potions bag from that cupboard!" she snapped, and began flicking her wand over Diggle in a complicated pattern. Dudley hurried to do as she said.

"What's going on?" Mum screeched. "Why's he on the table?"

"All a lot of nonsense!" Dad muttered. Dudley ignored them, and helped Hestia, doing whatever she demanded of him.

In what felt like both forever, and no time at all, Diggle was breathing evenly, and all his wounds were fixed or bandaged. Hestia floated him up the stairs, onto his bed and Dudley followed her, anxious to find out more.

"Ennervate." Diggle's eyes blinked open. "What happened?"

Diggle's eyes roved around wildly before settling on Hestia.

"The Minister's dead. The Ministry has fallen," he rasped. Hestia gasped.

Shit. Even with his poor understanding of the wizarding world, it didn't' take a genius to figure that one out

Hestia fed Diggle a potion, and Diggle fell back to sleep. Mum and Dad were waiting in the lounge for them.

"Well?" Dad demanded, arms crossed.

"He'll live. But the Ministry has fallen to You Know Who."

Dad's eyes bulged. Maybe he was thinking about how he'd suggested they go to the Ministry for help, and how Harry had told them it was infiltrated. Maybe it was just hard for him to believe that any established government could fall to terrorists.

"And us? Will they find us?"

Hestia gave his Mum a look of utter disgust.

"Hundreds of people are dead," Hestia said. "None of them even know where we are anyway." She turned and left the room, while Mum looked as if she'd just swallowed a lemon.

* * *

The days passed, each blurring into the next. Everyone was on edge, and Dad slept with a shotgun next to his bed. Hestia and Diggle had taken to trading sleeping shifts. Occasionally they got the magical paper. Harry's face was sprawled out on the front page as Undesirable No. 1.

"They've got the right idea," Dad chuckled. Dudley winced.

Hestia turned to Dad, fire in her eyes.

"You Know Who is planning to eradicate all muggles – all none magicals, just like you – from existence, and Harry is leading the resistance against him," she spat, "you disgusting excuse for a man. If it weren't for your son I'd leave you and your wife to your fate. It's amazing that Harry still fights for muggle rights, the way you treat him. Evidently he's a better person than all of us!"

Dad went red in the face and spluttered with outrage, but Hestia had already left the room.

It was that incident, amongst other comments, that lead Dudley to speak to Hestia a while later.

"So, what is the big deal with Harry?" he asked, already knowing he wouldn't like the answer.

Hestia measured him with her gaze, her blue eyes unblinking, then gestured for him to take a seat at the table.

"This is not the first war the wizarding word have had with You Know Who. In the seventies he lead a war against the light, calling for the eradication of muggles and witches and wizards of muggle descent, just as he is doing now. Many pureblooded wizards, of only wizarding decent, believed themselves superior, and joined him. It was dark, terrible times. People were being murdered in their beds, as they walked down the street – no one was safe. Then, for some reason – a prophecy has been mentioned – He Who Must Not Be Named decided he wished to attack Lily and James Potter, shortly after their child, Harry, was born. The Potters went into hiding, but they were betrayed, and You Know Who killed them both. He then turned his wand on Harry, in 1981, but his curse back fired, and Harry survived, while He Who Must Not Be Named was destroyed, but not killed. He has sought to return to power many times, but each time Harry has fought him, and was victorious, until his fourth year at Hogwarts, where through a dark ritual You Know Who returned to life. And now, Harry still fights for what is right, and I believe that he will triumph against the Dark once more."

She was energised, fervent by the end of her speech, then she sagged back into her chair. "He has too," she said, quietly, as she was speaking to herself.

Dudley couldn't believe what he was hearing. His scrawny cousin – a hero!

Had his parents known? His Mum knew some small things about the wizarding world, at least. How had she not know nthis?

He suddenly felt guilty for all the time he'd taunted Harry, made trouble for him, been such a brat, while Harry was fighting for his life, and the lives of others.

"Do you know anything about someone called Cedric?" he suddenly asked, a sickening feeling in his gut. Hestia eyed him curiously.

"He was a boy who died the night You Know Who returned, killed by the same person who betrayed Harry's parents, right in front of his eyes."

Dudley gulped. He sat down heavily, and let his eyes fall closed as he thought about how cruel he'd been to Harry following that school year.

"Right," Dudley said. Hestia left him sitting there in silence. Dudley felt like his whole world had been turned upside down.

* * *

Word count: 1257


End file.
